There are two quotes
from two very different books that have been working on me lately. I want to share both of them with you.

Piglet noticed that
even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of
gratitude.

~A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Giving is what we do
best. It is the air into which we were
born. It is the action that was designed
into us before our birth.

~Eugene Peterson, Run with Horses

In his own small
way, Piglet reminds me that gratitude is not about the size of my possessions,
the size of my home or even the size of my heart: it is about the attitude that
I choose to bring to each new day of my life.
Peterson reminds me that giving is part of who I am as a human being
when I am living at my best.

But, when I think
about these two quotes in juxtaposition, the connection I make is that
gratitude is what motivates me to give to others and live at my best, whether I
am giving my money, my time, or my talents.
And it’s true.

I want to give money
toward helping others further their education because I am grateful for the
learning opportunities made possible to me by scholarships. I want to offer my gift of language to help
interpret because I am grateful for the times when someone else served as a
bridge to another culture for me. I want
to make and deliver meals to families after they have a baby because I am
grateful for the ways people supported me after my daughter was born.

Giving generously is
motivated by gratitude.

We are entering a
season in the church year of talking about stewardship. Our theme this year is “Inward, Onward,
Outward.”

In the words of Ruth
and Adrian Sulser,

“Stewardship connotes
responsibility that begins within each of us and encompasses our relationship
with God (inward). Stewardship is also a
bridge that spans the distance between our past and future and to one another
(onward). Finally, stewardship
encompasses our vision, our mission, and call to serve others (outward).”

As we enter the next
few weeks, I invite you to prayerful reflection about the things, people,
community and experiences, you are grateful for. Ask God to show you how to give generously in
response and how to be a good steward of that which you have been entrusted.